SENATOR MAZIE K. HIRONO URGES SENATE TO GIVE PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SECRETARY OF DEFENSE NOMINEE AN UP-OR-DOWN VOTE
Hirono: At a time when the nation lies on the brink of potentially devastating defense cuts and the Asia-Pacific region is seeing growing instability, now is not the time to leave the Department of Defense without a leader
Washington, D.C. -- Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, urged her colleagues to end their unprecedented filibuster of Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel in the following statement:
“At a time when the nation lies on the brink of potentially devastating defense cuts and the Asia-Pacific region is seeing growing instability, now is not the time to leave the Department of Defense without a leader. Hawaii and our nation need a Secretary of Defense in that chair as soon as possible. Senator Hagel is a qualified, principled leader who has served with distinction. He would be the first person of enlisted rank to lead the Pentagon. Senator Hagel deserves an up-or-down vote. With our nation’s military facing so many urgent needs, we simply should not have to wait any longer just for the sake of politics.”
